Comments
(None yet)

Electronically Translated Text

The world's most expensive car produced in commercial quantities is the Duesenberg, of America, which caused something of a sensation at the recent motor show in London. The price for the all-weather touring model was £3,460.

What does it feel like to go driving in the world's costliest car? This is the answer as supplied by a staff writer of 'Motor' (England):— Speedy, docile, possessed of unlimited limited power. Such is the Duesenberg berg, as it impresses us after a brief run. A hurried road-test squeezed, figuratively speaking, between the cargo boat- and Olympla, gave us an inkling of what we may expect. To begin with, the controllability of the car is so excellent that one does not appear to be driving such a big vehicle. The steering is its light as a feather, the lock is goood, silence is absolute and springing all that one could desire. The Duesenberg is as pleasant to handle as the best European productions. On the open road it is rock steady at any speed, answers the most minute movement of the steering wheel and can be 'thrown' round corners fast with the certitude of a racing car. Hills simply do not exist for this powerful car. Acceleration is striking. We should say that there are few standard cars which can compare with the Duesenberg in this respect. Second gear- as silent as top— will permit of speeds higher than those the average car will reach on top. The brakes, hydraulically operated, are as safe to use us they are light to apply. Tho pulling-up power seems adequate for any emergency. The controls operate nicely. The clutch, reasonably light to disengage, takes up the drive smoothly so that the car will get away on top pear without a sign of transmission snatch. The gear change is easy, an extremely short movement ot the lever being called for when passing from second to third or vice-versa. Speeds of below 5 m.p.h. on top gear may be maintained, in traffic, without touching the clutch, while from a crawl one can accelerate really rapidly on top gear without a sign of pinking. In the course of a brief run we found that 80 m.p.h. could be reached in little more than half a minute from a speed of 10 m.p.h., but we were prevented by force of circumstances from reaching higher speeds. The springing has that singularly rare quality of being as efficient at low speeds over potholey roads as when swinging along at a mile a minute on an undulating highway. There is not the slightest suggestion of 'roll' on corners, and one can pull down the camber of a road at high speeds with the car feeling under complete control. The 'memory ticklers', us they may be called, are a unique feature of this fine car. Every 70 or so miles a green light appears on the near side of the instrument board to indicate that the chassis-lubricating oil reservoir is full, while an instant later a red light, flashing into view above it, tells the driver that oil is being delivered under pressure to every part of the chassis. Again, every 700 miles, another light suggests to the driver that

the battery may require 'topping up' with distilled water. Thus is the car a perfect owner-driver's vehicle, despite, its twin-overhead camshaft engine of some 7.5 litres capacity. A great feature of the engine is its absolute smoothness at all speeds. It will rev up to 4,500 r.p.m., which is very unusual for a power unit of this size. At 4,200 r.p.m. the output is said to be 265 b.h.p., but an enormous amount of power is always available at much lower rates of revolution.